On June 28, 1922, the Irish Civil War erupted when the forces of the Provisional Government attacked the Anti-Treaty IRA garrison at the Four Courts in Dublin. The conflict, which lasted until May 1923, pitted those who accepted the Anglo-Irish Treaty against those who rejected it. The civil war was a bitter and destructive conflict that left deep divisions in Irish society and politics.

The Irish Civil War was a traumatic event that divided families and friends, and its shadow is cast over the poetry of the period. Writers like W.B. Yeats and Sean O'Casey grappled with the meaning of the conflict, exploring themes of betrayal, loss, and the tragic costs of revolution. The civil war's legacy of division persisted in Irish poetry, influencing the work of later poets who sought to heal the wounds of the conflict.